Le Mort Vivant (French for "the undead" or "living dead") is the first canned release from Southern Star that utilizes their new multi-style can. As you can see this will function as their seasonal release can with a sticker showing the name of the beer affixed to the top. Le Mort Vivant is also the first Biere de Garde style beer to be canned and Southern Star might be the first Texan brewery to ever brew the style. We love the can and the innovation going on here. This is the first of what will be four seasonal canned by Southern Star over the next couple years. Cheers!

A great write-up about this beer by Ronnie Crocker can be found over at Beer, TX.

Below is a short description about Le Mort Vivant from that article:

"...the beer is brewed using traditional techniques and an extended boil with French, German, Belgian and American malts; French and Czech hops; and a French yeast. Hamm had to sell Fougeron on the idea of including Six-row malt, a higher-enzyme variety that is more common to the macrobrewers of the U.S. but in this case mimics the barley used by the French." - Jeff Hamm (Brewer, Southern Star)

Here we go...

Pour - a nice dark shade of auburn in appearance with a rather thin head, yet one that lasts a long, long time. Soft looking, almost a bit hazy with some nice highlights when held upwards.

Aroma -biscuity and doughy, caramel, honey on brown bread, very sweet citrus, stewed grains and some hints of grape juice.

Taste - a malty, honey-kissed brew with some hints of caramel apples and oranges. Lots of depth to this beer. The layers of maltiness are apparent as are the subtle flavors from the yeast strain. A little dry in the finish with some sweetness left on the tongue.

Overall - very well done! A great beer for the colder months, even in Texas, as this is on the stronger and maltier side. If you're not familiar with Biere de Gardes why not grab some cans and learn while you drink? We really love that Southern Star chose such a unique style to be their first canned seasonal and look forward to their future releases. Cheers!

Note - Biere de Garde, which means "beer to keep" or "beer for keeping", is a strong pale ale style beer that has roots in Northern France near the Belgian border. The style is similar to that of Saisons in both production and flavor. Biere de Gardes tend to have a bit more malt character and a less pronounced yeast flavor. Salut!